Heightened Action and Quality Additions Make "The Battle of the Five Armies" Extended Edition Best of the Lot

 
  Leading up the the home release of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" EXTENDED EDITION, each extended edition of the epic trilogy played one night only in theaters this month. Last week "An Unexpected Journey" and "The Desolation of Smaug" extended editions graced the silver screen for the first and last time. I didn't make it to those screenings, however I own both and have seen both. They're fantastic. That being said, I made it a point to make it out to the cinema to see the third installment's extended cut, and let me tell you...it's everything I would've hoped for and more!

Thank you Peter Jackson! Thank you!

   I'm well aware of the negative backlash that the Hobbit trilogy has gotten, so I'm not going to spend anytime on the flaws and triumphs of the trilogy as a whole. I mainly want to get a few thoughts down about this particular cut of the third film. I'm not going to list out all the new stuff in the movie, so I don't think I need to say there will be spoilers. My intent here is to highlight why I think this version is the best of the three, which it is. If you haven't seen any of the extended cuts of the Hobbit trilogy, I strongly encourage you to do so. They're not just longer versions of the movies, but they're more rounded and entertaining versions. In order to get the full scope of Peter Jackson's vision, thank the theatrical versions for their service and grab on to the extended cuts.

   Let me just start by saying that I know comparing The Hobbit trilogy to The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a no-no. You just can't. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is an epic masterpiece and the extended editions are even greater. Why? Because they thicken the plot without bloating it, they ramp up the action without compromising the story or emotion, and they serve to tell a much more rounded story. The extended editions of the first two Hobbit films were better versions of their theatrical counterparts, but not to the extent of The Lord of the Rings. An Unexpected Journey had tasty morsels added that spiced up the story on a more entertaining level, without really adding to the emotional arc of the plot. The extended edition of The Desolation of Smaug (which when comparing the theatrical versions I think it's the best of the trilogy, only just slightly above Five Armies), gives a bit more to the overall arc of Gandalf's journey, as well as the Dwarves' journey that ultimately plays out in the third film. More action was added and it actually served as a slightly better version.

   Now enter The Battle of the Five Armies. I was taken back when I first heard that the extended cut for Five Armies was going to be R-rated, for "some violence". I was shocked. I mean, the MPAA doesn't always seem consistent in their ratings. I know they try, but it's true, and this would be the first Middle-earth film to be rated as such. I mean, the extended edition of The Return of the King was insanely violent and it still garnished a PG-13 rating. So I'm like "What the heck did Peter Jackson do to get an R rating?!" Oh boy, people. I now know why. It's obvious that Jackson had way too much fun making this cut because he pulled out all the stops with this film when it comes to the action; a frozen river troll fight, significantly more battle rams, as well as quality battle screen time with ALL your favorite dwarves plus so much more! It is relentless...and it's bloody! With the reved-up violence, the quality plot additions and continuity corrections, I felt like I was watching a different movie. A new movie. A better movie.

   Those three things are why this version is the best extended edition of the trilogy. The story just seemed more rounded. The subtle additions gave it an all-around smoother feel. There was nothing added that didn't seem unnecessary. There were moments in An Unexpected Journey's extended cut where though the additions seemed cool, it just made certain points feel bloated. The Desolation of Smaug did as well, but not enough to really garnish head-scratching as to why it was added. Not the case here. Five Armies just seemed to flow much more smoothly, even more so than its theatrical counterpart which wasn't that bad. The continuity changes helped. For example, in the theatrical version when Legolas grabs on to a bat in the midst of the battle and flies up to his sniper perch to help Thorin, at one moment he's hanging from his hands, the next by his feet. It's not enough to take you out of the film, but enough to ask "Why is he upside down?". Jackson gave us the benefit of the doubt, thinking that we'll just assume he was attending to some orc soldiers or something and needed to fly Spider-man style. In the extended edition we see this scene played out in a hysterically awesome sequence where we learn why he's upside down. It's a brilliant Legolas moment, even though the fact that he's featured in this trilogy to begin with was a weird sore spot for some people. It's little things like that that not only extend the film, but also gives it a sense of completion; heightening the storytelling as well as the entertainment value.


   There are other instances where the lack of continuity from the theatrical version are fixed--with added goodies of course--that just make this film that much better. And the action, my goodness. THERE'S SO MUCH MORE OF IT!! Every new action sequence is intense, bloody, hysterical, and harrowing all at the same time, giving you a better understanding about the danger these characters face. There is a particular sequence involving sword and mace-wielding trolls and the Dwarven army that is just downright dark and gruesome. The battle overall is just so awesome, I can't speak enough about it. Let me just sum up it's awesomeness in three words: Battle Ram Chariots. 'Nuff said.

   As I type this my fingers can't move as fast as my mind wants them to. This isn't a typical movie review, I know. It's more like a joyful explosion from a beloved fan. And that's what makes this movie awesome. You can tell, maybe more so in this film than in any other Middle-earth film, how much fun Peter Jackson had with making these movies. Five Armies is an emotional climax both in battle and story and Jackson didn't hold anything back. He let his fan flag fly, and I'm so grateful he did because he turned a great movie into an even better one. I'm coming to you as a fan of both the Hobbit trilogy as well as movies in general. Whatever arguments have been made about the making of the Hobbit, a book with about 300 pages, into a trilogy of movies; whether it's the overall length, or the overuse of CGI (which looked about the same, quality-wise as it did in the theatrical version), or the added story lines not found in the book, these movies are still awesome. The theatrical versions are great, the extended versions are better. Again, if you're a fan of these films and you haven't seen the extended cuts, do so. The Battle of the Five Armies did what each of the Lord of the Rings' extended editions did, and that was improve the movie as a whole. It was amazing people.

And I'm so ticked that I now have to wait until November for the bluray. Whose bright idea was that?!


The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - EXTENDED EDITION is available on digital HD October 20 and DVD/Bluray November 17